Genesis 31
31
Jacob Flees from Laban
1Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this #Ps. 49:16wealth.” 2And Jacob saw the #Gen. 4:5countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not #Deut. 28:54favorable toward him as before. 3Then the Lord said to Jacob, #Gen. 28:15, 20, 21; 32:9“Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will #Gen. 46:4be with you.”
4So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, 5and said to them, #Gen. 31:2, 3“I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father #Gen. 21:22; 28:13, 15; 31:29, 42, 53; Is. 41:10; Heb. 13:5has been with me. 6And #Gen. 30:29; 31:38–41you know that with all my might I have served your father. 7Yet your father has deceived me and #Gen. 29:25; 31:41changed my wages #Num. 14:22; Neh. 4:12; Job 19:3; Zech. 8:23ten times, but God #Gen. 15:1; 20:6; 31:29; Job 1:10; Ps. 37:28; 105:14did not allow him to hurt me. 8If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: #Gen. 30:32‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. 9So God has #Gen. 31:1, 16taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
10“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. 11Then #Gen. 16:7–11; 22:11, 15; 31:13; 48:16the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for #Gen. 31:42; Ex. 3:7; Ps. 139:3; Eccl. 5:8I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13I am the God of Bethel, #Gen. 28:16–22; 35:1, 6, 15where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now #Gen. 31:3; 32:9arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”
14Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, #Gen. 2:24“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15Are we not considered strangers by him? For #Gen. 29:15, 20, 23, 27; Neh. 5:8he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. 16For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”
17Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. 18And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of #Gen. 17:8; 33:18; 35:27Canaan. 19Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the #Gen. 31:30, 34; 35:2; Judg. 17:5; 1 Sam. 19:13; Hos. 3:4household idols that were her father’s. 20And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and #Gen. 46:28; 2 Kin. 12:17; Luke 9:51, 53headed toward the mountains of Gilead.
Laban Pursues Jacob
22And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. 23Then he took #Gen. 13:8his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. 24But God #Gen. 20:3; 31:29; 46:2–4; Job 33:15; Matt. 1:20had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you #Gen. 24:50; 31:7, 29speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
25So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.
26And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and #1 Sam. 30:2carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? 27Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? 28And you did not allow me #Gen. 31:55; Ruth 1:9, 14; 1 Kin. 19:20; Acts 20:37to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now #1 Sam. 13:13you have done foolishly in so doing. 29It is in my power to do you harm, but the #Gen. 28:13; 31:5, 24, 42, 53God of your father spoke to me #Gen. 31:24last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ 30And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you #Gen. 31:19; Josh. 24:2; Judg. 17:5; 18:24steal my gods?”
31Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was #Gen. 26:7; 32:7, 11afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ 32With whomever you find your gods, #Gen. 44:9do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
33And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. 35And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot #Ex. 20:12; Lev. 19:32rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.
36Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? 37Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! 38These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. 39#Ex. 22:10That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. #Ex. 22:10–13You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. 41Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I #Gen. 29:20, 27–30served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and #Gen. 31:7you have changed my wages ten times. 42#Gen. 31:5, 29, 53; Ps. 124:1, 2Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and #Gen. 31:53; Is. 8:13the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. #Gen. 29:32; Ex. 3:7God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and #Gen. 31:24, 29; 1 Chr. 12:17rebuked you last night.”
Laban’s Covenant with Jacob
43And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? 44Now therefore, come, #Gen. 21:27, 32; 26:28let us make a covenant, #Josh. 24:27you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
45So Jacob #Gen. 28:18; 35:14; Josh. 24:26, 27took a stone and set it up as a pillar. 46Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. 47Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. 48And Laban said, #Josh. 24:27“This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, 49also #Judg. 10:17; 11:29; 1 Sam. 7:5, 6Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. 50If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”
51Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father #Gen. 16:5judge between us.” And Jacob #Gen. 21:23swore by #Gen. 31:42the Fear of his father Isaac. 54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55And early in the morning Laban arose, and #Gen. 29:11, 13; 31:28, 43kissed his sons and daughters and #Gen. 28:1blessed them. Then Laban departed and #Gen. 18:33; 30:25; Num. 24:25returned to his place.
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Genesis 31: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 31
31
Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan
1Now #31:1 Lit heJacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this #31:1 Lit glorywealth.” 2And Jacob saw the #31:2 Lit faceattitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as it had been before. 3Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” 4So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5and said to them, “I see your father’s #31:5 Lit faceattitude, that it is not friendly toward me as it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6You know that I have served your father with all my strength. 7Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to do me harm. 8If he said this: ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock delivered speckled; and if he said this: ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock delivered striped. 9So God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 10And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream—and behold—the male goats that were #31:10 Lit leaping upon the flockmating were striped, speckled, or mottled. 11Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’; and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12He said, ‘Now raise your eyes and see that all the male goats that are #31:12 Lit leaping upon the flockmating are striped, speckled, or mottled; for I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. 13I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, #31:13 Lit Go out fromleave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’ ” 14Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any share or inheritance in our father’s house? 15Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also #31:15 I.e., enjoyed the benefit ofentirely consumed our #31:15 Lit moneypurchase price. 16Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has told you.”
17Then Jacob stood up and put his children and his wives on camels; 18and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he possessed which he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. 19Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the #31:19 Heb teraphimhousehold idols that were her father’s. 20And Jacob #31:20 Lit stole the heart ofdeceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. 21So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set #31:21 Lit his faceout for the hill country of Gilead.
Laban Pursues Jacob
22When Laban was informed on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 24However, God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “#31:24 Lit Take heed to yourselfBe careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”
25And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done #31:26 Lit and you have stolen my heartby deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27Why did you flee secretly and #31:27 Lit steal medeceive me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourine and with lyre; 28and did not allow me to kiss my #31:28 Lit sonsgrandchildren and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. 29It is in #31:29 Lit the power of my handmy power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘#31:29 Lit Take heed to yourselfBe careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ 30Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” 31Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our relatives #31:32 Lit recognizepoint out what is yours #31:32 Lit with meamong my belongings and take it for yourself.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
33So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34Now Rachel had taken the #31:34 Heb teraphimhousehold idols and put them in the camel’s saddlebag, and she sat on them. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. 35And she said to her father, “May my lord not be angry that I cannot stand in your presence, because the #31:35 I.e., menstruationway of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the #31:35 Heb teraphimhousehold idols.
36Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? 37Though you have searched through all my property, what have you found of all your household property? Set it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they may decide between the two of us. 38For these twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. 39I did not even bring to you that which was torn by wild animals; I took the loss myself. You demanded it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40This is how I was: by day the #31:40 Or droughtheat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41For these twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. 42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”
The Covenant of Mizpah
43Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the #31:43 Lit sonschildren are my #31:43 Lit sonsgrandchildren, the flocks are my flocks, and everything that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these daughters of mine or to their children to whom they have given birth? 44So now come, let’s make a covenant, #31:44 Lit I and youyou and I, and it shall be a witness between #31:44 Lit me and youyou and me.” 45Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial stone. 46Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47Now Laban called it #31:47 I.e., the heap of witness, in AramJegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it #31:47 I.e., the heap of witness, in HebGaleed. 48Laban said, “This heap is a witness between #31:48 Lit me and youyou and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed, 49and #31:49 Lit the Mizpah; i.e., the watchtowerMizpah, for he said, “May the Lord keep watch between #31:49 Lit me and youyou and me when we are #31:49 Lit hiddenabsent one from the other. 50If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between #31:50 Lit me and youyou and me.” 51Laban also said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the memorial stone which I have set between #31:51 Lit me and youyou and me. 52This heap is a witness, and the memorial stone is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this memorial stone to me, for harm. 53The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. 54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his relatives to #31:54 Lit eat breadthe meal; and they ate #31:54 Lit breadthe meal and spent the night on the mountain. 55#31:55 Ch 32:1 in HebThen early in the morning Laban got up, and kissed his #31:55 Lit sonsgrandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
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